Reviews for Islandborn

by Junot Diaz

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Spanish-language edition translated by Teresa Mlawer. In an unnamed U.S. city, Lola is given homework to draw "the country you are originally from," which Lola doesn't remember. The elderly apartment-building superintendent finally tells her "a monster"--a stand in for political destabilization--"fell upon our poor Island"; Lola's concluding drawing shows her homeland (likely the Dominican Republic) in its complexity. A welcome community and immigration story with vibrant illustrations of city and island life. Also available in Spanish. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A young girl's homework assignment unravels the history and beauty of her homeland.Lola and her classmates are assigned to draw pictures of their respective origin countries. With excitement, the others begin sharing what they will draw: pyramids, a long canal, a mongoose. Lola, concerned, doesn't remember what life was like on the Island, and so she recruits her whole neighborhood. There is Leticia, her cousin; Mrs. Bernard, who sells the crispy empanadas; Leticia's brother Jhonathan, a barber; her mother; her abuela; and their gruff building superintendent. With every description, Lola learns something new: about the Island's large bats, mangoes, colorful people, music and dancing everywhere, the beaches and sea life, and devastating hurricanes. Espinosa's fine, vibrant illustrations dress the story in colorful cacophony and play with texture (hair especially) as Lola conjures images of her homeland. While the story does not identify the Island by name, readers familiar with Daz's repertoire will instantly identify it as the Dominican Republic, a conclusion that's supported when the super recalls the Monster (Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo), and sharp-eyed readers should look at the magnets on Lola's refrigerator. Lola, Teresa Mlawer's translation, is just as poignant as the original.Together, Daz and Espinosa present an imaginative, purposeful narrative about identity and belonging. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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